The EMU economic sentiment index fell to 115.3 in December from 117.6 in November. EMU-wide consumer confidence back-tracked, retailing backtracked and services backtracked. Rising month-to-month was the industrial sector index and construction. The sectors stepping back in December are those sectors that are relatively more impacted by interpersonal transaction activity an important point with the virus spreading in Europe.
Among the 18 early-reporting EMU members in the table, 14 reported declines and only four showed index improvement in December (all small economics: Cyprus, Slovenia, Latvia, and Lithuania). That compares to seven countries reporting declines in November and eight reporting declines in October.
The headline is the weakest since May of last year. March 2021 was the month in which the EMU sentiment index made its jump to the 100 mark, and it improved to 110 by the next month. So, the comparison to the May 2021 level is to an intermediate step up as the economy in Europe dug out from the severe covid weakness. From May 2021 onward, the index improved; October 2021 was the high reading at 118.6. During this phase, improvements were incremental. The headline EMU index has now declined from this post-covid peak for two-months running.
